Tapping sound at bottom of oil pan

Prior to final assembly, you should clay the distance from the oil pump pickup to the pan. It should really be 0.314 inches.

The problem sounds very similar to what happen the first time my trans was removed. The stock oil pan has a built in windage tray welded on. I dented the back of the oil pan jacking it up trying to tilt it to remove the trans. After reinstalling the trans and starting the car up, I started getting that noise. One of the rod bolts caught a lip on the windage tray and pulled it up. The solution was to remove the stock pan and take a hammer to it to straight out.

We were able to bend the stock parking brake bracket down and pull the pan. Putting the car on a lift was a big plus. Bending the bracket will definitely weaken the weld. If it's just bent back after reinstalling the pan, the weld will eventually break and you parking brake cable and bracket will be dragging on the ground. You must reinforce the welds. I ended up replacing mine with a removable parking brake bracket.

I was able to get the pan off by just cutting off the e-brake bracket, did not have to cut off the cross brace, sounds like you didn't either, so that's one thing believed by many turned into a myth. As you noted, I pounded the bottom of the pan flat, the back of the pan has a slit in the windage tray, one side a little higher than the other, so I guess I'll flatten that some too.

The slit on the back of the pan was where the windage tray lifted up and caused that noise on my pan. I hope you had access to a lift as the last time I had to pull my pan, I had to do it laying on my back. That was a pain even with a removable bracket and a removable crossmember installed.

You bet. I would never try this without a lift!